"Nettles" by Vernon Scannell

“Nettles” by poet Vernon Scannell is a reflective poem based on the poet trying to protect his son from hurting himself in a nettle bed. I found this poem very emotional and touching and this is mainly why I chose to write about it. The poet reflects on his own experience to prove his point of view, and he achieves this, and I indent to analyse what point he is trying to convey in this poem.

The poem is set in the poet’s own garden, with the nettles hidden out of sight behind the shed. The young child (the poet’s son) falls into the nettle bed, which causes him to cry as it hurt him. This poem is extremely effective as it means a lot more than just a boy falling into nettles. The message that the poet has expressed in this poem is that parents can’t always protect there children no mater how hard they try. Also, it is very emotional, about the father’s feelings for his son, which makes the poem very dramatical and more effective.

The use of imagery in the poem effectively helps the poet get his message across. The poet uses different techniques to make the poem more interesting and seem more realistic. This helps us imagine the scene clearly and creates an atmosphere.

“That regiment of spite behind the shed. It was no place for rest”The strong word “spite” emphasises how much malicious the nettles are, that they have a strong desire to hurt someone, in this case the young boy. Saying a “regiment of spite” links to battle, and the fact these nettles want to cause harm and pain, they are linked to war, as though they are soldiers. They are behind the shed, and this gives us thoughts on how sly they are. They lurk out of sight, and wait to attack. This tells us how merciless they are, rule and harmful. “No place for rest” is a very effective phrase to use here, as it is a nettle bed. “Bed” is associated with sleeping, resting and comfort, and to say nettle “bed” seems curious to the poet, as nettles are associated with nothing but pain discomfort and suffering.